A Liberty Township
man suspected of driving drunk was seriously injured on Tuesday in a head-on
crash on U.S. Highway 6, the Porter County Sheriff’s Police said.

According to
police, at 9:38 p.m. a Liberty Township firefighter was eastbound in the 50
block of West U.S. 6, in the area of the Elkay Motel, when he observed a
minivan westbound in the eastbound lane. The firefighter advised police that
he was forced to “maneuver off the roadway” to avoid a head-on crash, as
were two other motorists in front of him. The oncoming minivan, however,
then struck three vehicles which had been traveling behind the firefighter,
at which point the minivan left the roadway, went down a hill, and landed on
its roof.

The first officer
at the scene found the minivan’s driver “upside down, bleeding from the
head,” with his left arm outside of the vehicle “and left arm trapped
underneath the vehicle,” police said.

The officer also
detected the odor of alcohol from the vehicle’s interior.

The officer was
“unable to engage in any meaningful investigative conversation” with the
minivan’s driver, “due to his position and medical state,” although he did
report that the driver “later advised a nurse that he didn’t drink and drive
but instead drank at home and then drove,” police said.

The driver was
later transported to the University of Chicago Hospital.

The driver has not
been formally charged with any offense but the PCSP is seeking to subpoena
the results of blood testing.

None of the
occupants of the three vehicles struck by the minivan sustained serious
injuries, police said.